I guess.

Paypal should have an option where the buyer pays for item and the paypal fee, but the transaction is otherwise like a normal buyer-seller transaction with full cover (i.e. you pay how much you owe to the seller and then paypal calculates the fee charge, which you accept, and it is added onto what you pay).

I know CAG bans asking for gifted payments. Seems like it eliminates a lot of trouble.

Cool, I thought this whole time it was a 4% PP fee (3% FTW). I too generally ask for Gift per the fees, but would never require it.

It is nice being covered, I've been in a few predicaments with some shady NA members. Won't let it happen again...

Educating yourself about paypal and it's terms also eliminates a lot of trouble. The fees add up.

I only ever ask for gift payment if the total transaction (including shipping costs) is like $5 or less, because losing the base transaction fee + 3% stinks at that point. Losing $0.50 on a $2 game from fees is balls, losing the same amount on an $8 game doesn't bother me though, and I would prefer to accept gift payments instead of not dealing in low-value transactions (since I mostly list common dupes on here).

I don't have a problem paying as a gift if I've seen the person around on Ebay or they have excellent feedback on NA. I prefer gift payments on most games I sell. Fees add up and make it not worth selling at times. Therefore, it's nice to actually sell something for the price your asking without losing fees. However, I definitely understand peoples concern because it's tough to trust anybody 100% these days.

paypal covered? LOL How about seller, who NEVER covered with paypal. Especially on international transfers. Why? Read carefully SPP.
About damaged package - why sender should be responsible for damages during shipping? Claim your lovely postal service.
I don't use paypal. At all. 3.9%+ very expensive for receiving YOUR money. And one more thing - paypal made for ebay and using it out of that place can give you mmm let's say unusual results.

If you have alot of feedback and/or are a long time established posting member gift is no prob with me. I think iv received over 55 gifted payments tbh

Glad to see this posted up. I've been avoiding gift payments as much as possible for probably my last 70 transactions.

I didn't see it listed in the opening post, so I thought I'd mention that I've received notice from Paypal threatening to suspend my account if I continued to send/receive Gift payments with a high regularity. I don't know what the threshold is for getting flagged on Gift payments, but you're going to find yourself seriously gimped for online purchasing if your Paypal account gets terminated. It's yet another reason not to use the Gift system for anything other than its actual intention.

I am also glad to see this. This has been a huge sticking point for me over the past year.

Paypal charges fees. And really, part of that also goes to keeping us protected. You can't be upset that a business is trying to make money, because if you're selling games on here, you're also trying to make money. And there are plenty of other options. I grew up sending money orders for things I won on ebay.

When something is listed for 100's of bucks however 3% is still a noticable sum. So to counter this, his supposed to make the already expensive item more expensive, risking to not get it sold at all and then if he does throw the money on this fee?

I'd much rather trust the seller and look after both of our interests..

I wish I took this advice earlier, but just avoiding it with New Users is not the way to go either.

I used to look and see if the person had been here a couple of years, when they asked for gift payment, and if they had, I would comply. I had 77 trouble free transactions, with 95% being gift payments, save a few newer users.

After my ordeal with Spoonman, I won't ever do gift payments again, Period

I only accept non-gift payment if the buyer is willing to pay the excessive costs for tracking and they use a confirmed address so I have full seller protection. I'll gladly accept a regular payment if all fees and shipping costs are accounted for.

I pretty much exclusively use and receive gifted payments on here. If you've seen several pics of the item and know the person you are dealing with, I have no problems sending gifted. I'd actually be kind of offended if a person didn't want to send me a gifted payment (unless they were a new user and just scared in general). Unless you actually offered to pay an additional 3% to cover the fees.

Here's an easy fee calculator:

http://thefeecalculator.com/...

lol, 3% is close enough.

+30cents per transaction and if you are selling a cart for $2 it's about 15% fees in total. very close to "promised".

This is where I run into problems.  I don't think sellers should pass the buck completely onto their buyers.  Sellers should incur fees for services that they require to be used.  Sure, if fees can be avoided for both sides safely than I'm all for it (both my forums and these forums offer free marketplaces to buyers looking to get around eBay marketplace fees) , but the buyer should not have to front all costs the seller may incur just to have the item.  They are already paying shipping, possibly handling, possibly tracking/insurance, and now have to pay your fee for accepting a payment?
When you walk into a store, an item might be marked up because of rent, taxes, distribution cost, etc., but if this was itemized on the price tag when purchasing I think many of us would walk away.  Also, if every item in a store was marked up to the point that the consumers were fronting the entire cost for the item being sold, I can't imagine the store lasting very long. 
If you go to the store and got to the checkout and discovered that you had to pay an extra fee just to pay with credit card, you would be upset. The store can pass it on, but they roll it in the price or deduct it on taxes.
I understand that Paypal fees can sting, especially on very large purchases.  I've been on both sides of this many times, but I still feel it's very off-putting and even unfair to the buyer to ask this of them, even in this virtual and free marketplace scenario. 

It isn't a fee for "accepting payment". It is a fee for accepting a particular form of payment. You are still perfectly able to send gift payment and avoid the fees.

If there was a $5 fee for accepting payments on a tuesday, why should the seller have to eat the $5 fee just because you decided to send your payment on tuesday?

I agree with Jonas here. I've done transactions with 110 different NA users, almost exclusively using the GIFT method, and never once had a problem. Obviously you need to be intelligent. I'm by no means advocating always sending payments via GIFT transfer if the seller's integrity or reputation is in doubt. Just be smart and do your research. If you are new, or have less than 20 positive feedback, you shouldn't even be asking buyers to send as GIFT.

To add to nesguy's comment, I did actually have my Gift payment ability revoked by Paypal. After calling them to inquire, they informed me that I could close my Paypal account and reopen it and start fresh. I did this and it was painless and straightforward. I didn't have to change any of my personal information, email address or linked bank account. Everything stayed the same. Your history is cleared, etc, but it was no big deal. Just thought I'd throw it out there.

I think the mods are certainly correct to warn the population of the risk here, but I think members should be smart and err on the conservative side and the vast majority of problems will be avoided.

If eBay was not a monopoly with extremely high rates and Paypal was independently operated, my opinion would be a bit different because its true that Paypal does provide a useful service and is entitled to some compensation.

That is all fine and good, but it is inevitable that we are going to come into a situation with someone with integrity or a solid reputation that just out right scams someone. I hope it never happens and I am wrong but it probably will

It's unfortunate this is even an issue. But, you can never be too safe when on the lookout for bums and dead-beat sellers. My advice to any newer community members: If you trust your seller, fine. When in doubt, protect yourself and negotiate a deal that gives you piece of mind. Personally, I haven't had any problems like this, but I'm not about to fork over a large gift to a new member, especially if it's for something rare or valuable. It just boils down to building a decent community reputation and using a little common sense before that "shiny" overtakes your better judgment! haHA Cheers!

- Euripides -

Josh can i send you a "gift"

I figured this would come about eventually.